How Far We've Come
by ABalletBun
Summary: A series of drabbles based on post-daylighters Eve, Michael, Claire and Shane.
1. Smiling

Hi, everyone :) So I re-read daylighters and it got me thinking about how the Glass House gang's futures would be and I got inspired. Hope you enjoy! Sorry if the times in this story are wrong, but I figured out that since Feast Of Fools was set in October and Care Corpus (Claire's birthday) was 6th months later, that Claire's birthday was in April. So Claire would be turning 19 in April 2014.

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Title: Smiling  
Time: November 2014  
POV: Shane

The second that I heard our daughters tiny, innocent cries, I swear that my heart stopped. She was so small and perfect; 10 fingers, 10 toes. The doctor passed her to Claire and I saw tears well up in her eyes as she held our baby in her arms.

Our baby. That was the strangest sentence I'd ever heard, yet it was filled with some much joy and love that I'd ever felt.

Claire looks up at me and I've never seen her so happy. Pure love radiates from her pores, and if she was glowing when she was pregnant, she was practically the sun now. Even covered in sweat and blood, she's never looked so beautiful.

"Does she have a name?" I hear the doctor ask us and both of ours heads snap up. We hadn't discussed this, but we both knew. Claire nodded at me.

"Carrie Alyssa Collins" I choke out.

The doctor smiles approvingly, "Pretty... I'll give you three a minute"

She walks out, leaving Claire, Carrie and I alone. I almost choke at thought. There wasn't two of us any more, there was three. Three.

My arms begin to ache for the baby. I need to hold her. Claire picks up on this and holds Carrie out towards me. I place my hands under Carrie's body and gently lift her up towards me. She's quieted down now, no longer screaming her head off. I notice that she's staring right at me. Not through me, like some babies. Right at me, almost as if she's paying attention to who I am.

"Hi Carrie," I whisper.

She squirms a little, like she's trying to reply. I look down at her, taking in everything about her. She has thick light brown hair, like mine and Claire's brown eyes. She's red like every other newborn, but I can tell that she has my skin tone. She has a perfect little nose and a typical, round baby face. She's the perfect combination of Claire and I, but she's neither of us at the same time. She's her own little person.

Even in a happy moment like this, there's still a burning fire inside of me. I will protect her. Sure, after the whole daylighters thing, the vamps have calmed down, but there is still no way to be sure that they're entirely safe. Especially with Claire and I's reputation, she's at more a risk. Amelie's promised protection for Carrie, but I still feel the need to give her something extra.

Carrie will not be hurt by the vampires, she won't feel the pain I felt growing up; having my family torn apart by blood and alcohol. She won't be forced too grow up too soon like Alyssa and I were, she won't have her heart broken by death of loved ones. I'll make sure of it.

"Thank you," I whisper to Claire.

"What for?" She asks.

"Giving me her"

Claire laughs a little her, the noise making my steel heart flutter, "She's half yours, too. Without you, we wouldn't have her."

I smile and look down at Carrie settling down in my arms. She's struggling to keep her eyes open as she snuggles into the crook of my elbow, "I know but you did all the work."

That's true. Without Claire, there would be no chance of Carrie existing. She was Carrie's home, food and breathing for 9 months. She was the one suffering from morning sickness, back pain and mood swings, not me. She was the one who just sat through 12 hours of labour, just for our little girl. There's nothing I could ever do for Carrie that would compare with that.

With Carrie asleep in my arms, I look over at Claire. She's also getting tired, I can tell it in her eyes.

"You can go to sleep if you want" I mumble, "We'll be right here when you wake up."

"I hope Carrie likes being an only child because I am never doing that again." She mumbles.

Claire lies down on the bed, without closing her eyes. She stares right at Carrie and I, smiling.


	2. Pony

**Drabble No.2 in the series, this time it's Michael and Eve! I also want to say a big thank you to insaneantics21, for 'puppy verse' which undoubtedly insired these drabbles and the timeline in which they are set! If you like these drabbles then check out her Brittana-themed ones (glee).**

**Title: **Pony

**Time: **December 2019

**POV: **Claire

"We're home!" Shane yelled, bounding through the front door. 5 year-old-Carrie followed shortly after.

Carrie was short with long brown hair and brown eyes. She wore a pink skirt with a cream jumper and matching tights. She had a fluffy pink coat which surprisingly, Eve had picked out. Shane was carrying her lunchbox: a pink case with kittens on the front.

I lifted her up for a cuddle, "How was school? Did you have fun."

"Yes." She replied and took a deep breath, a sign that she was about to ramble. I looked over at Shane's amused look which told me that she hadn't shut up about school the whole way home, "We went to a farm today and Miss said that we couldn't touch the animals but Billy put his hand in too the horse and nothing happened so I put my hand in too and he licked me!"

"Billy?" I asked, jokingly.

"No, the pony." She said in all seriousness, obviously not catching on to the fact that I was joking.

"Ugh." Shane joked, licking Carrie's hand playfully "Bet his tounge was all slimy."

Carrie pulled her hand away quickly, "Ew, Daddy!"

I put Carrie down on the floor and she ran into the living room, presumably to draw or lay with her toys. I smiled and kissed Shane.

"How was work?" I asked.

"Good." He replied, "Rad set the fire alarm off and we had to do a full was quite funny."

"Riveting." I mumble sarcatically and Shane pulls tounges at me.

"You had to be there."

Shane and I walked into the living room where Carrie was lying on her stomach on the carpet, drawing or writing something. I threw myself down onto the sofa and put my feet up. Shane lay down on the floor next to Carrie.

"What'cha doing, pumpkin?" I heard him ask.

"Writing a letter to Santa," Carrie replied innocently. She's so cute.

"What are you asking him for?"

"A pony."

"A..." Shane gulped, "Pony?"

"Yep." Carrie sung as she searched around for a pen. She found it under a cushion and carried on writing, using messy scribbles that only a 5-year-old could decipher.

Shane looked at me with fear in his eyes and I stared back. Carrie was asking for a pony for Christmas. But there was no way that we could give her a pony. Logically, we didn't have the money, time or expertise required to look after a pony. But if she woke up on Christmas morning expecting a pony then didn't get one, she'd question whether Santa was real and I didn't want that to happen.

Shane and I had came up with a plan: get Michael to dress up as Santa and explain to Carrie why she wouldn't be getting a pony for Christmas. Genius.

"Ho ho ho," Michael laughed as he walked into the living room, "Is there a Carrie in here?"

Shane, who was standing beside Carrie whispered to her, "Who's that, Carrie? Is that Santa?"

"Santa!" Carrie echoed, breaking free from Shane to hug Michael.

Michael sat down and swung Carrie up onto his knee. The look of joy on Carrie's face was amazing. She looked so happy.

"Hello, Carrie." Michael said in the deepest voice he could manage, "How are you?"

"I'm okay." Carrie answered, "You?" How cute. She made me so proud when she was polite like that. She made me proud all the time. I looked over at Eve, who was standing by the door chuckling.

"Now, Carrie. You've been a very good girl this year." Carrie nodded as Michael/Santa spoek to her, "So what would you like for christmas?"

"A pony." Carrie shot out, quickly and firmy.

"Now, Carrie, there's a slight problem with that." Michael sighed, "You see, ponys are very heavy and the sleigh just can't carry one."

Carrie looked like she was about to cry and my heart broke for her, "But Santa's magic."

Michael gave her a hug and said, "I'm sorry Carrie. Is there anything else you want for christmas?"

"No." Carrie sighed.

The room was silent now, all watching Carrie's reaction like she was a bomb about to go off. Michael looked exasperated as he asked, "Are you sure there's not one thing you'd like for christmas? Not anything besides a pony?"

"Well, there is one thing..."

Everyone let out their breath as 'Santa' asked Carrie what that one thing was, "Ho ho ho, well what would that be, my dear?"

"A baby cousin."

Eve burst out into giggles while Michael just sat there looking shocked, "Well maybe the sleigh _can _fit a pony, after all." he mumbled.


	3. Christmas Miracle

**Yay, so there's more Michael and Eve in this chapter if you're a fan of them! If not then you should skip the next few chapters...**

**Title: **Christmas Miracle

**Time: **December 2019

**POV: **Michael

It was christmas eve and I was lying on the sofa with Eve. Her head was resting in my lap and I was stroking her hair lovingly. Eve and I still lived in the Glass house although it had been refurbished since Shane and Claire moved out just before Carrie was born.

My mind ket replaying Carrie's (my beautiful, talented 'neice') words: " "A baby cousin".

She wanted a litte cousin for christmas. A baby. Mine and Eve's specifically. I couldn't help but laugh at that on, she was a cute kid. The thought of Eve and I having a baby scared me a little, but not like it used too.

If you'd have asked me a few years ago, I would have been scared of the commitment. Having a baby meant forever, you could never give up on a child or decide you want something else. I've always loved Eve, but when I was younger - mainly the vampire ages - forever seemed so long and I didn't know what I wanted from it yet.

It was slightly easier now. I am 100% commited to Eve (I always was, deep inside) and the thought of having something we could share forever doesn't seem so bad anymore. I suppose, I could even say that I _want _a baby. The timing is up to Eve, of course, but definitly in the future.

I felt Eve squirm as a small neighing sound came from across the room. Eve sighed angrily, as she asked "When will Shane be here anyway? That _thing _is wrecking the carpet".

I laughed slightly as Eve called the pony, 'that thing'. Yes, you heard that right, there is a pony in our living room. Shane and Claire caved in and agreed to buy Carrie a pony, after all. Carrie wasn't spoilt but this year, they are definitly spoiling Carrie.

There was a knock on the door.

"Speak of the devil" I murmered, as Eve sat up from leaning on me.

"_The devil _is definitly the right way too describe Shane..." Eve grumbled, only half-jokingly.

I walked over to the door and let Shane in. I gave him a *cough* manly *cough* hug and patted him on the back.

"So where is it then?" He asked, all flustered. Morganville had came a long way since the days of innocent humans being attacked but it was still best to stay insides at night. It was around 9:30pm so I assumed that he and Claire had just put Carrie to bed before Shane drove round here to get the pony. It was a shetland, so it was small enough that they could keep it in their back yard. It was fluffy and dark brown and must have cost a small fortune for Shane and Claire. They'd bought it about a week ago and we'd kept it since then.

Shane led the pony outside, said his goodbyes to us then headed home. I went back inside, poured Eve a glass of wine and took it into her. She was watching Home Alone and I'm sure that she was nearly crying when Kevin got left on his own.

She looked shocked as I passed her the glass, "Aw, thank you. You're so sweet". She kissed me and put the glass down. She snuggled into me and we carried on watching the film. I noticed that she hadn't drank her wine yet.

"Aren't you going to drink that?" I asked.

She chuckled slightly, then became serious, "I have something to tell you..." she began.

My heart stopped as my mind flew through every single possibility. Was she breaking up with me? Had she been fired? Was she sick?

"I'm pregnant." She started.

Everything froze. I remember when Shane found out that Claire was pregnant, he freaked out. I didn't understand why he'd reacted how he did, until now. I'd wanted kids, but it still came as a huge shock.

Eve began to ramble now, clearly terrified of how I was taking it, "I only found out a coule days ago, sorry. I wnt to doctors because I felt sick and the he told an dI kept it a surprise until now. I should have told you, I don't know what I was..."

I cut her off with a kiss, "I love you"

She looked shocked, but happy, "I love you too".

That was definitly the best christmas eve (see what I did there) present ever.


	4. Double Trouble

**Thank you all for all the wonderful reviews, it really means a lot to me :)**

**Title: **Double Vision

**Time: **February 2020

**POV: **Eve

I was sitting at the doctors office with Michael, waiting for my 20 week scan. Michael was taping his foot nervously whilst gripping tightly onto my hand. We were hoping to find out if we were having a boy or a girl and it really was nerve wracking.

"Everything will be fine sweetie..." I whispered to him, lazing one hand on my officially noticable bump.

"I guess so, I mean there's really nothing that can go wrong." Michael said, visibily relaxing a bit and drooping his shoulders, "We're too late in the game for twins anyway."

"That's the spirit. I know for a fact that there's nothing wrong health-wise, I just know" I reassured him

"I love you," he whispered, kissing me on the cheek.

"I love you too."

You know how a couple minutes seems like a couple hours were your waiting at the doctors? Well, I was totally feeling it. Like Michael, I was little bit nervous, but I was mor excited than anything. Even if we couldn't find out the gender today, we'd still get too see or baby again.

I wanted a boy. Michael wanted a girl. I wanted a mini-Michael (I'd also heard that boys were easier). For Michael, it was a bit more compliacated. He wanted a daughter that he could protect and love. He'd always been protective of those that he loved. He wouldn't let anybody even _look _at me the wrong way and when Claire first came to the Glass House, he saw Claire as a little sister. He was amazing with Carrie too. I mean, I don't know any other men who would dress up as Santa to entertain their 5-year-old neice, do you?

"Eve Glass?" I heard the nurse call as Michael and I stood up.

Our sonagrammer was really kind and kept asking how I felt and what symptoms I'd been experiencing and I couldn't lie, as far as pregnancies goes, I'd been lucky. I'd experienced a little nasuea at the beginning but it quickly went away.

She put the cold little gooey thing (like seriously, what is that actually called) on my stomach and then waved her little stick (another thing I don't know the name for).

"Okay Eve, in a second, we should hear the baby's heartbeat." My OBGYN, Laura, told us, "Here we go..."

There was a steady thump as the soft rhythm of a heartbeat filled the room. But something was off, the heartbeat wasn't alone. Wait. That can't be right. Ther was more than one heartbeat?

"Oh." Laura sighed, "It seems that we missed something last time"

My own heart was racing now and probably so was Michaels as she said the dreaded words "You're having twins."

Twins. As in two. TWO. Michael and I had wanted two children, that wasn't the problem. But we'd expected at least a few years to prepare for the second and to go from a family of 2 to a family of 4 was cary.

We had a nursery ready, for ONE. We had a spare bedroom, for ONE. We had names picked out, for ONE. We would have completely change everything!

Michael and I were still shocked and it wasn't until we got home that it settled in. We were having two babies.

"Twins..." Michael muttered as he sat at the table with his head in his hands.

"Yep," I confirmed, slumping down next to him, "Twins."

Michael looked up at me and smiled, "I guess twins could be cool."

"You do?"

"Yeah, I mean, its double the money and double the work but it's a ready made family and twins usually grow up to be close."

"Yeah," I smiled widely, "You're right."

I put my hand gently on my stomach, thought about the babies that were in there and couldn't help but smile: twins.


	5. Table For Four

**Title: **Table for Four

**Time: **June 2020

**POV: **Michael

We'd heard every horror story in the book. Tales of pre-eclampsia and twins that were born 3 months early. We'd heard stories of miscarriage with one baby and of people having horrendous difficulties during pregnancy with twins.

That's what Eve and I had been prepared for. We were warned that Eve was likely to go into labour as early as 32 weeks so ever since then, we just kept thinking 'any time now'. We'd been on our toes, scared that something would go wrong.

It didn't.

It was the 1st of June, 2 days after Eve's due date and we were driving to the hospital. Eve and the kids had amazed doctors and defied odds by keeping the twins safely inside without any complications. In fact, apart from some slight back pain and a little bit of sickness right at the start, we hadn't even had any symptoms.

The doctors didn't want to put any extra stress on her or the babies, so they booked her in for a caesarean section.

Parked outside the hospital, I looked over at my beatiful wife. She was about as wide at this point as she was tall and she was definitly glowing. She had never looked more beautiful in my opinion.

"This is it..." She whispered without meeting my eyes, staring at straight at the hosptal where in about an hour, we would be holding our two babies. She turned to me and smiled, grabbing my hand and squeezing it.

"Yeah," I mumbled back, kissing her forehead. She had no make-up on today and she looked very casual, for Eve atleast. She wore a black band t-shirt with black pants and trainers. Her hair was thrown up into a messy bun with a red headban securing it. She looked adorable, although she'd probably want to kill me for calling her that.

About half an hour later, Eve was changed into a hospital gown and lying on a bed, waiting for them to call her name. I felt useless as they eventually wheeled her in while she kept her grip on my hand. She was terrified of being cut open, that was understandable but she didn't realise how frightened I was too.

I was going to be a father. In about 15 minutes, our lives were going to be changed forever by the addition of two little people. I remember Shane telling me all about mood swings and morning sickness, after all, he'd had experience from when Claire had Carrie but the thing I remember most about everything he said was about how when you see your son or daughter, your world gets pushed off axis to make room for them, how you dont think you can love them anymore, then they do something adorable and you can.

Eve winced as they cut her open and I grabbed her hand. She took a deep breath and told me, "It doesn't hurt, it's just strange,"

I wanted to say somethingback to her but I couldn't. Fear was rushing over me. What if something went wrong? Would I lose Eve or the babies. I didn't believe in God but at that point, I prayed that I would have a healthy wife and healthy kids.

That when I heard a cry. It was loud and desperate, the baby wanted to be heard. They held him up for me and Eve to see. He was tiny, I'd expected him to be tiny. Somehow, I knew him. He wasn't a stranger. I knew what Eve would call him, Cory Samuel.

I didn't have time to process it properly when they held up a second baby for us, a second boy. Blake Shane. He was quiet, his cries were gentles whimpers unlike his brother's screams. He had red hair too, like Sam. I felt tears in my eyes thinking about my son and my grandfather. Sam would have loved to be here to treasure this moment.

They handed Cory to me and I accepted happily. A tsunami of feelings hit me at once, but one stood out above the rest. _Understanding. _Something I'd never had when I was a vampire. All the crap in our lives was worth it, for this special moment right here. This was what humanity was about.


	6. Wings

**Title:** Wings

**Time: **September 2021

**POV: **Claire

I'm pulling a comb through Carrie's silky brown hair when I first hear it, the sigh of unsatisfaction. At first, I think that it's all in my head: my own personal fears, being projected into Carrie's little voice. Then I see her little scowl in the mirror with a tear running down her cheek.

"Mommy," she starts, "Am I pretty?"

My heart leaps into my throat and I know my eyes are wide. She's not even 7 years old yet, she's too young to start hating herself. But even as I think that, I know that 7 isn't too early to critize yourself. I always picked on myself growing up. I was never pretty enough, smart enough, funny enough, strong enough, brave enough.

I hesitate to answer, not because it isn't obvious that Carrie is stunning, but because I don't know what to tell her. I know she won't listen. She's about as stubborn as Shane, and as much of a perfectionist as me. I mentally kick myself for not seeing this coming.

"Yes," I blurt out instinctly, "You're the most beautiful girl in the world, Carrie,"

"I don't think so," she whispers.

I finish her braid and spin her too look at me. Tears are threatening to spill over in her eyes, as well as mine. How can my baby girl not see that she's perfect? I blame myself. Shane and I constantly tell her that we love her and praise her every time she uses manners or does something nice for someone. We told ourselves that we wanted our daughter to grow up without the pressure of looking pretty or learning to judge people by their looks, so we never focus on her beauty. Do we not tell her enough, is that why she thinks this? Tears spill from her eyes, as well as mine.

"You're beautiful, Carrie," I tell her softly, but making sure that I say every word clearly so she doesn't doubt it, "What don't you like about yourself?"

"I don't really know," She admits, scrunching up her freckled nose, "I just wish I looked more like you,"

"I wish I looked like you," I tell her, and it's not a lie. Her honesty breaks me, though. Me? Why would she want to look like me? Sure, I'm not as insecure as I was when I was younger, but I'm not pretty, and I'm definitly not as beautiful as Carrie, for sure.

She sighs so I grab her and pull her in for a hug. She hugs me back as I feel her tears and snot on my back as we both cry. Whispering now, I tell her how pretty she is and then I feel Carrie being pulled away from me. My head flicks up and I see Shane, tears in his eyes, aswell as he lifts Carrie onto his lap. He cradles her like a baby and strokes her hair.

"Go and get yourself a drink and a tissue, Claire," He says it roughly, but the as he looks down at Carrie, I know he's thinking the same as I am. I nod and leave, fixing myself up and grabbing a glass of water before standing in the kitchen listening to Shane and Carrie talk.

"Do want to hear a story, Carrie?" He asks softly, and although, I don't hear her say anything, I know Carrie will nod. She loves stories.

"Once there was a princess. She was very smart and beautiful, so much so, that she moved away from her parents early. The princess was constantly told by other girls that she wasn't pretty or smart and she believed them. That princess did some of the most amazing things that anyone has ever done..."

"What kind of things?" Carrie asks and I feel myself wondering the same thing.

"She worked with scary people, and she was very brave. She saved the whole town more than once, she is the reason that Morganville is still here today,"

"Wow," Carrie whispers, "She's very brave."

"She didn't think so, sweetheart," Shane tells her, "But she was. The most beautiful, smart person in the world but she didn't believe she was any of those things,"

"Who is she?"

"Your Mom,"

Carrie gasps and I stifle a giggle at her shock, "But Mom is amazing! Doesn't she know that?"

"See! You and her are both butterflies" Shane says.

"Butterflies?" Carrie repeats, "I'm not a butterfly and neither is Mommy,"

"You are butterflies. You know why?" Carrie must have shook her head here, because Shane continues, _"__Butterflies can't see their wings. They can't see how truly beautiful they are, but everyone else can. People are like that as well."_


	7. Two?

**Title: **Two?

**Time: **October 2021

**POV: **Claire

"Thank you so much, Claire! I owe you one, well sort of two," Eve laughs, "But seriously, next time you and Shane want to go out, you know who to call," She mimics being on the phone, as Michael grabs her hand and gently pulls her to the car.

After waving goodbye to my best friend, I head out to the living room where Shane is holding baby Blake as Carrie shakes a rattle in little Cory's face. Michael and Eve's twins are 16 months and as well behaved as they are, I almost regret offering to babysit. I walk over to Carrie and lie down next to her as she messes with the baby. It's hard to remember when Carrie was that old, she's 7 next week.

The reason why I'm dreading baby sitting the twins isn't because I don't like babies, or that they're dirty or too energetic, it's not because I don't want to help Eve. It's because I'm worried about how this will effect Shane. Even now, as he puts all his effort into making Blake giggle, I know he wants another baby.

It started when Carrie was 3 years old. He brought it up casually, as if it didn't matter and I brushed it off, saying that we weren't ready. He didn't mention it again until Carrie's 5th birthday, and even then, it was just a little hint in the form of him telling me about how close he and Alyssa were, and that he would love for Carrie to experience having a baby brother or sister like he did. The third time he hinted at it was when we took Carrie to the park a few weeks ago, there was a couple younger kids there and they swarmed around Shane easily. He was great with kids, they loved him. When we got home, he told me that he wanted a 2nd but it was up to me.

How long could I keep saying no to him?

Finally, when all three kids where tired out, Shane and I opened a tub of ice cream with wine for me, and a can of some kind of beer for him. We didn't talk at first, but I squirmed a little, knowing that the inevitable question was coming soon.

"You know, we had 3 kids today," Shane told me. I looked up at him, "I don't think it made that much difference to what we normally do,"

I knew what he was asking. He wanted to know if we could have another baby, but as usual, he didn't want to ask in case he upset me. I did agree with him to an extent, Cory and Blake were good babies and we had a lot of fun watching them. But having another baby wouldn't be like that, would it?

Maybe it would. I mean, Carrie loved Cory and Blake so there'd be no jealousy issues. Also, Morganville is a lot safer now, so we wouldn't have to worry too much abouut whether or not there would be danger for him/her. I've missed having a baby, too, if i'm honest.

"Okay" I say, before I can change my mind.

"Okay?" Shane repeats, as if he didn't hear me.

"Yes,"

He doesn't say anything, but he smiles and leans over to kiss me. I kiss him back with equal force and that's when I know I've made the right decision.


	8. When Big Sister Meets Little Sister

**Title: **When Big Sister Meets Little Sister

**Time: **September 2023

**POV: **Claire

It hadn't been easy, getting pregnant a second time. We started trying at the start of 2022 and we had tried for months for another baby, but there were no results. Shane and I had spent many night researching secondary infertility, convinced that I had it. Our doctor told us to try for a year before running any tests.

_Carrie was already in bed, ready for school tomorrow. She'd put up a fight, but sleep overtook her easily, as it does for all 7 years olf who don't want to go to bed. I felt Shane brush the hair from my neck and sighed. It was June now. We'd be officially trying to have a second baby since January, and we'd been unofficially trying since October last year. It was so easy with Carrie, no trying involved, she'd just appeared into our lives so easily._

_Why couldn't it be the same this time?_

_Maybe it's my karma. Shane had wanted another baby for so long and I kept saying no. How was it fair that when I finally said yes, it wouldn't happen. I kept seeing babies everywhere now. A simple trip to the shop ended up in tears now, when I saw a mother pushing a pram and cooing over a young child._

_It made me feel like crap for being so jealous.I already had one baby, Carrie. And she was beautiful, smart and perfectly healthy. Some people would kill for one baby, and here I am, moaning because I don't have two. But still, I felt like I was failing. Women were built for this, weren't they? So why couldn't I just do it?_

And that was _June. _Little did I know that I'd have another half of a year of waiting before I would finally get pregnant. Shane and I had been to a doctors appointment while Carrie was at school and he told me that there was nothing physically wrong with me and that Shane and I could have another baby, it was just about being patient. I'd been so happy, that night, and well, I guess you can figure out what happened next. It was the first night in so long that we'd had sex because we wanted to and not because we felt like we should.

It seemed that as soon as all I needed to get pregnant was permission.

_I'd stopping getting excited and taking the test as soon as possible now. After a while, I figured that it would only get me more upset. I'd been so convinced that it wouldn't happen, that I didn't see the signs. When the smell of coffee in the morning made me want to vomit and I started crying my heart out to my newly-turned 8 year old daughter because Olaf was willing to melt for Anna, it was Shane that mentioned taking a pregnancy test._

_We waited until Carrie was at school before taking it. I'd sighed at Shane and told him that we already knew what the answer would be but he smiled back at me, he was still hopeful. Secretly, I felt a little excited myself, but I didn't want to show it incase it was negative._

_It wasn't._

A tiny knock on the door woke me up from my daydream. Shane ran over to it and opened it up, swinging Carrie up into his arms and hugging her. You would have thought that we'd been away for a week, not a day and a half, but Carrie's excitment made my heart melt.

The baby in my arms whimpered and I bounced her a little to calm her down. Carrie looked over at me, shocked to actually see the baby. Shane put her down and she walked slowly towards me, as if she was terrified. I put my arm out to her and she rushed into it and stared over into the blanket.

"That's your baby sister, Carrie," I heard Shane tell her with a warm smile.

Carrie didn't say anything for a while but eventually turned to me with a nervous look on her face, "Can I hold her?"

I nodded and Shane put her into a chair and arranged the pillows, making it easier to Carrie to hold the baby. I placed her gently into Carrie's waiting arms and melted as my now big girl smiled down at my new little girl.

"What's her name?" She asked and I looked over at Shane. We didn't really have any ideas. Picking a name for Carrie had been easy, we knew her name before I was even pregnant. Choosing a name for this baby was a lot harder, especially considering we had already used our favourite name ever on Carrie.

"We don't know yet," I told her, brushing her hair away from her face.

"I like the name Eloise," Carrie told us and I looked at Shane. Eloise. Baby Ellie. I liked that, surprisingly. Carrie had came up with a thousand crazy ideas for the baby's name. _Rapunzel, Persephone _and _Carrie Two _had been on her list.

"That's a nice name," Shane told her.

"Yeah, I actually like that," I told him.

"Eloise?" He asked, testing the name out, half asking if I wanted to go with that name.

"Eloise," I confirmed, fixing the baby's blankets "Our little Ellie,"


	9. Baby Wars

**Title: **Baby Wars

**Time: **April 2025

**POV: **Shane

Claire and I had always said we wanted two kids. Two was the perfect number for us. It meant that everyone had their own bedroom, there was always room in the car, family deals at the fairground fit our family perfectly, even family food packaging made everything in a set of four. We were perfect as we are.

"Dad! Look at me, I've never got this far before," Carrie called to me and I looked up to see my 10 year old on the highest point of the climbing frame. She was, she really _had _never got that high up before. I swelled with pride after watching my daughter do something new. Both of my girls were changing with each day. I mean, it seems like yesterday that we brought Ellie home from the hospital and now she's a year and a half old. Ellie's running around and talking more with every day.

Ellie was definitly a lot like me. She was brave, and stubborn, which are both attributes of Claire and myself. But Ellie was also protective of her family and had a short temper when someone upset her. It shocks me how she's her own person. Carrie had been shy and gentle but Ellie is not like that at all. If someone pushed Carrie over on the playground, she's start crying to me or Claire but Ellie pushes them back and carrys on with whatever she was doing.

"Dada!" Ellie called, standing by the swings. The park was quiet today, only a few other kids out which is how we liked it. I helped Carrie get down after she decided she was stuck and Ellie started calling me over again.

"Hang on Ell," I'm coming, I shouted over to her as I lifted Carrie onto the floor.

"DADA!" She screamed and I looked over to see her guarding her swing defensively. A child that looked to be a few years older than Ellie was shaking the swing and my poor child was hanging on to it for dear life. I can't help but laugh again at how much my daughter is like me, Carrie would have backed off and let the other kid have it but Ellie refuses to let go.

By the time I reach the two kids, they're starting to fight over the swing. I felt a wave of protective anger over my daughter, the other kid wasn't even in the park when Ellie got the swing. Besides, they've got to be _at least _two years older than her, if not more. They should know better. The other kid is pushing Ellie and I can't help but feel a little proud when she turns round and pushes the kids onto the floor, she's strong for her age.

"Hey!" I hear a familiar voice scream at me, "Control your brats," Monica Morrell. I hadn't seen her besides awkward eye contact in the street. I heard that she married some rich business man and they were 'happy'. Her shrill voice hadn't changed, even after all this time. I almost felt sorry for her daughter. _Almost._

"They're names are Ellie and Carrie," I tell her sharply, picking Ellie up and swinging her into my arms, "And they're not brats,"

She comes up to my face, "Care to explain why your _brat _just pushed my child over?"

"Simple. Ellie had the swing first," I say angrily, and Carrie comes over, hugging my leg.

"Doesn't you kid know how to share?" She screams, gesturing wildly right at Ellie who turns me looking shocked and starts crying.

"Ellie shares good," Carrie says, and I don't bother to correct her grammar, "And she's older than Ellie and she was pushing her too," My heart swells with pride as Carrie defends her little sister, just like I would have done to Alyssa when we were younger.

Monica doesn't reply, she just grabs her kids hand, pulling her surprisingly hard, "Come on Reece, we'll go to the one on the other side of town. I don't want you being near these people anyway," I put my hand out and Carrie high fives me. I put Ellie into the swing and start pushing her. I can't wait to get home to tell Claire.

In the end, I decide that both my daughters are like me. Carrie loves deeply and fiercely, while Ellie has my stubbornness and my temper. I don't get the chance to tell Claire what happened before Carrie blurts it out proudly. Claire shares a sly smile with me telling me that's she also proud of Carrie. As soon as Carrie and Ellie both get started on their dinner, Claire puts a hand on my arm.

"I need to talk to you," She says, before pulling me into the living room, closing the door behind her so the kids don't hear, "I know we said that we were going to stick with two but..."

"About that," I start, "A third would be nice, if you want one that is,"

"I'm pregnant,"


End file.
